- Megabucks Slot Machine Jackpot Winners
- Megabucks Slot Machine Jackpot Winners 2019
- Megabucks Slot Machine Payouts
IGT’s Megabucks is a dollar coin slot machine that requires 3 coins ($3.00) to hit the jackpot. The jackpot is reset to a specific amount after every grand win. While the present reset amount is $10-million, there is talk that this will soon rise to $11-million.
Free to Play IGT Slots Online
Nearly every state in the US provides its residents (and visitors) an opportunity at a life-changing lottery jackpot. Notably absent from that list of states is one of the biggest gambling venues in the world: Nevada.
While residents might feel a twinge of jealousy from the frequent news stories of lucky multi-million-dollar-winning lottery players, Nevada doesn’t exactly have a shortage of methods for people to win their own big money jackpots. The most potentially lucrative one of all is Megabucksslot machines.
Responsible for most of Nevada’s biggest money jackpots of all time, Megabucks slot machines are perhaps the closest alternative Nevada has to a true lottery. Megabucks is a simple game with a massive progressive jackpot.
Megabucks: a simple game
It’s likely that most mental images of a slot machine conjure this game to mind. Megabucks slot machines have three reels and one payline going right through the middle of the reels. The game features many of the typical slot machine symbols — 7’s, cherries, and bars — that any slot player has seen numerous times before.
The goal of the game is to match these symbols along the lone payline. That’s it. There’s no intricate series of patterns. There’s no complicated bonus game to trigger. And there’s no underlying theme associated with the game.
It’s just a matter of whether the player matches three like symbols on the payline or not. Match the symbols, and get paid.
The Megabucks progressive jackpot
While true that Megabucks has a simple game design, that doesn’t mean the game lacks appeal. Rather, it might be one of the most appealing slot machine games available due to its substantial progressive jackpot.
With a minimum prize of $10 million, the Megabucks progressive jackpot can be an attractive gamble for anyone. Slot players are sure to become most intrigued when the jackpot climbs to its higher amounts.
Twenty or even $30 million jackpots are not unheard of for Megabucks. Each machine linked to the jackpot has the amount prominently posted just above the machine, large enough to see from the other side of a room. There will never be any confusion over a specific jackpot amount.
Megabucks is a standard $1 slot machine. The caveat is that a player must bet the maximum ($3) on a spin to be eligible to win the progressive jackpot. Once the maximum bet is made and the reels are spun, landing “MEGABUCKS” symbols along the payline on each of the reels is what it takes to win the hefty prize. Similar to picking winning lottery numbers, it really is that simple to win the Megabucks jackpot.
If one does manage to win the jackpot, the similarities to lottery winnings don’t end there. Jackpot winners are given a 25-year annuity for their winnings rather than the entire sum all at once. At $3 per spin, going for the jackpot could also be a costly endeavor. As most lottery players can attest, just because a game is simple to play, doesn’t mean it’s easy to win.
So you’re telling me there’s a chance?
Since 2005, when the jackpot was set at a minimum of $10 million, 22 people have won the prize. That’s about two people per year on average in the state of Nevada who find themselves lucky enough to be referred to as Megabucks progressive jackpot winners.
A number of sources seem to agree that the odds of any eligible spin hitting the jackpot is about 50 million to one. It’s a long shot to be sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying at all.
To put that into perspective, if it’s worth the time and energy to worry about the dangers of shark attacks when swimming in the ocean or plane crashes when flying in the air, then it’s statistically worth the effort to give Megabucks a few spins in hopes of becoming the next lucky winner. Somebody is going to win it, after all.
With the odds of hitting the jackpot so low and the relatively few ways for a player to win money, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Megabucks slot machines sports one of the highest levels of volatility in the slot world. Unlike many modern slot machine games, there aren’t an abundance of ways to win amounts close to the cost of a spin.
Essentially, this game amounts to most likely losing the entirety of the bet on a spin, but with a small percentage of spins leading to sizable wins.
Because of these qualities, Megabucks is not likely to attract slot enthusiasts, as they would be looking for a more valuable experience for their money. Since slot seekers would be more focused on the progressive jackpot opportunity, the higher volatility, and relatively low time investment, Megabucks is a popular choice for them.
No end in sight
Lotteries in the US have been popular for hundreds of years and remain popular to this day. It’s clear that the low risk/high reward game model is attractive to many. So long as people dream of the lavish lifestyle that only millions and millions of dollars can provide, they will always be willing to take their chances.
Serving as Nevada’s de facto lottery, there’s no reason to think Megabucks slot machines will be any different. Anybody with few dollars and a dream knows that an eight-figure payday could be waiting for them the next time they decide to spend a couple minutes playing the slots.
This fact alone will keep seasoned slot players, as well as casual casino-goers, sitting down and trying their luck with Megabucks.
Photo of Trinadad Torres courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.
Admit it. You have the same dream we do.
Everything conspires and you find yourself in the right place at the right time – seated in front of a Megabucks slot machine that’s primed and ready to hit. You push the button (of course, pulling a lever would be more dramatic, but this is 2015 and the one-armed bandit has gone the way of the horse and buggy). The logos on the reels all line up. And then the moment you’ve been waiting for finally arrives…you realize you’re a millionaire.
Correction: A multimillionaire.
IGT’s Megabucks has been paying out ginormous life-changing jackpots for almost 20 years. Its slogan is “Dream big. Win big.”
A network of slot machines linked throughout Nevada, Megabucks boasts a top prize that builds from a base amount of $10 million. To play it costs $1 a spin, but to quality for that top amount you’ll have to shell out $3. That sounds pretty steep, we know. But trust us, if you hit Megabucks with only a buck or two invested, you’ll leave with a jackpot in the thousands instead of millions. And just imagine trying to live with that.
As you’d expect, Megabucks lays claim to having paid the largest slot jackpots in Vegas history. It last hit here in mid March at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The lucky winner was Trinadad Torres, a 78-year-old woman from Magna, Utah. She played $100 before netting the $10,744,292.71 jackpot. Her plans include traveling to the Philippines and buying a yellow Mustang.
While nothing to sneeze at, Torres’ windfall just misses placing her on our list below of the 10 biggest slot jackpots ever won in Sin City.
Photo of Excalibur courtesy of MGM Resorts International.
Jackpot amount: $39,710,826.36
When: March 21, 2003
Where:Excalibur
More than 12 years ago, a 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles, who wanted to remain anonymous (and who can blame him?), hit the city’s largest slot jackpot after playing $100 on a Megabucks machine. A C-note in return for nearly $40 million…now that’s what we’d call a damn good investment.
Photo of Cynthia Jay-Brennan at the Desert Inn courtesy of Ethan Miller / Las Vegas Sun.
Jackpot amount: $34,959,458.56
When: Jan. 26, 2000
Where: Desert Inn (imploded in phases in 2001 and 2004 to make room for Wynn Las Vegas)
Gobs bigger than any tip she’d received, cocktail waitress Cynthia Jay-Brennan, then 37 years old, hit the second largest Megabucks slot jackpot in Vegas (at that time it was the city’s highest Megabucks payout). But her story took a tragic turn when her car was rear-ended about six weeks later by a drunk driver. Her older sister Lela died in the accident, and Jay-Brennan was left paralyzed.
Photo of Palace Station courtesy of Station Casinos.
Jackpot amount: $27,580,879.60
When: Nov. 15, 1998
Where:Palace Station
Ignoring your budget isn’t always a bad thing. Just ask the then 67-year-old retired flight attendant from Vegas who racked up the city’s third largest Megabucks slot payout. She’d only intended to play $100 at Palace Station that day, but wound up putting $300 in…and we’re pretty she doesn’t regret overspending one bit.
Jackpot amount: $22,621,229.74
When: May 27, 2002
Where:Bally’s
How does that old expression go? The early bird catches…the $22.6 million slot jackpot. Well, that’s how Johanna Heundl (then 74 years old) of Covina, California, might remember it. She was on her way to breakfast when she decided to stop and play a Megabucks machine. Having looked away for a moment, she couldn’t believe her eyes when she turned back and saw all the logos aligned in the payline.
Photo of Caesars Palace courtesy of Caesars Entertainment.
Jackpot amount: $21,346,952.22
When: June 1, 1999
Where:Caesars Palace
An Illinois man, then 49 years old and described as a “self-employed business consultant,” put a $10 bill into a Megabucks machine at the Roman-themed property and hit this whopping multimillion-dollar slot jackpot on his first spin. Here’s what we want to know: Is he still consulting? Can we hire him to help us get into the business of being millionaires?
Jackpot amount: $21,147,947
When: Sept. 15, 2005
Where:Cannery Casino Hotel
One man, two times a Megabucks winner. What are the odds? They’ve got to be astronomical. Certainly, anyone would be happy to score a single multimillion-dollar slot jackpot. But not everyone is Elmer Sherwin. A frequent Vegas visitor, Sherwin hit his first Megabucks jackpot of $4.6 million at The Mirage back in 1989. It was a sign of even better things to come. Sixteen years later, at the age of 92, that lucky son of a gun (kidding, we’re not jealous…really) did it again, adding another $21.1 million to his bank account.
Photo courtesy of the M Resort.
Jackpot amount: $17,329,817.80
When: Dec. 14, 2012
Where:M Resort
Oh, the best things in life are free…especially when they lead to a $17.3 million jackpot. A Las Vegas woman stopped by the M Resort in Henderson to gamble with her “free play” credits and enjoy a meal with some dining vouchers. Before she knew it, she’d become a multimillionaire.
Photo of “Rampart Lucky Local” courtesy of the Rampart Casino.
Jackpot amount: $14,282,544.21
When: Nov. 30, 2014
Where: Rampart Casino
Megabucks Slot Machine Jackpot Winners
Late last year a Las Vegas man put $20 in a Megabucks slot machine at the Summerlin-area Rampart Casino. Within five minutes he’d hit a jackpot worth $14.2 million. His plans were altruistic (unlike ours). The man, dubbed the “Rampart Lucky Local,” said he would make a donation to his church. The church, which had been holding services in a high school gym, can now have its own location built.
Photo of Aria courtesy of MGM Resorts International.
Jackpot amount: $12,769,933
When: Jan. 21, 2011
Where:Aria
A woman visiting her niece in Vegas decided to drop $6 in a Megabucks slot machine before heading back to her room. Her reaction when the winning symbols lined up: “The machine broke.” Luckily, her niece was there to clarify things. We think we should book a room at Aria because about four months after that jackpot occurred, another Megabucks jackpot hit at the resort for $10,636,897. Talk about lightning striking twice!
Megabucks Slot Machine Jackpot Winners 2019
Photo of New York-New York courtesy of MGM Resorts International.
Jackpot amount: $12,510,549.90
When: April 14, 1997
Where:New York-New York
New York-New York opened its doors on Jan. 3, 1997. Perhaps due to a little of the “city that never sleeps” magic, Vegas resident Suzanne Henley made her fortune at the Big Apple-themed megaresort just a few months later. On her way home from work, she stopped in to play a Megabucks machine – one that she’d had an inkling might hit. Henley waited in line an hour before she could play. And at 1:44 a.m., after putting $100 in, her diligence paid off…to the tune of more than $12.5 million.